


Part One - Camelot

by doctor_badass, sweaterstiel



Series: The Next Generation [1]
Category: Doctor Who, Merlin (TV), Sherlock (TV), Supernatural
Genre: M/M, Parentlock, Superwholock, Superwhomerlock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-16
Updated: 2013-10-16
Packaged: 2017-12-29 13:44:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1006134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctor_badass/pseuds/doctor_badass, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweaterstiel/pseuds/sweaterstiel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Winchesters and Pendragons, along with Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, and the Doctor, have been rather good friends for quite some time. They've gone on many adventures in time and space, hunting monsters and fighting aliens, saving the world a few times. But this is not their story. This is the story of the next generation of monster hunters, detectives, warlocks and kings. This is the story of Jophiel Winchester, Molly and Hamish Watson, and Mithya and Will Pendragon. And this is how it begins.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Her long, dark curls danced about her shoulders as she ran through the field. The sun was rising and she giggled as she let herself fall in the cool embrace of the long grass. She sighed and rubbed the dew off a strand of grass, letting the clear liquid tickle her hand as she let it run down her small twelve-year-old fingers. Her mind wandered and she suddenly wished she had gotten some tea before she left the flat. The thought of the warm liquid made her fingers uncomfortably cold resting in the early morning dew covered grass. She shrugged away the thought, _It’s too late now_ , and focused on the sun which was giving the grass the appearance of gold, due to the droplets of dew reflecting the rising sun’s golden light.

         Suddenly, the sound of muffled footsteps hit her ears and she jumped up with a start. A small blond boy was running towards her, panting with effort, and smiling lightly with excitement. “Molly! Molly!” he cried and the girl ran towards him.

         “Hamish? What is it?” Molly asked her ten-year-old brother. Hamish looked up at her with wide eyes, impatient to tell his story. For a ten-year-old, the boy was extremely smart, and Molly could only guess at what he had to tell her. He tried to speak, but his words were a mumble, distorted by his panting breath. Whatever it was it was he wished to tell her must be quite important, for Hamish had clearly worked hard to get to his sister as fast as he could. “Calm down,” Molly urged him, “and breathe. That’s it. Now try again.” Hamish took a few deep breaths and finally, words in a rush of excitement and exhaustion.

         “At home… with our dads… The Doctor and the T.A.R.D.I.S…. with Dean, Sam, and Cas… some mystery spirit thing… in Camelot!” Molly smiled. Sometimes she’d wonder when she’d see her old friends again.

         “Well,” she said to her brother, “we’d better hurry if we have any hopes of sneaking on board again.”


	2. Chapter One - Introductions

Jophiel sighed quietly as she settled into the darkness of her hiding space that, at this point, had become almost like a second home to her. She let the soft, dark shadows enclose around her as she stroked her brown hair, woven into a braid that lay at her side like usual. She heard her two dads’ voices and sat still and quiet in her corner. Of course, Jophiel was supposed to be hiding, and although Dean and Castiel had never told her that they knew she always came along, she was most certain her fathers had found out. The same could most likely be said about anyone else on board, but they had more important things to worry about than a bored fifteen-year-old girl tagging along on their trips.

         Jophiel waited in the dark, and played with the rings on her fingers. She twisted them in slow circles around and replayed every event in which she had received each one of them. This was a common thing that she did to cure her boredom in these long minutes before the adventure would begin. Jophiel dreamed often about the day when Dean and Castiel would invite her to come along and help, and she wouldn’t have to stay cramped in the narrow, dark space any longer just to come along and stay out of sight. Often times, she wondered if it was even worth it. She always had to be in the shadows, never to be seen by anyone, because she wasn’t actually supposed to be there. She couldn’t take part in any of the investigations or spirit killing, so why come along? _They should trust me more_ , she would think to herself, _I mean, I’m named after an angel after all. And angels are pretty badass, right?_ Of course, tagging along on one of these trips was always more eventful than staying at the cheap motel in whatever town they were currently staying in, taking pictures of the same things from different angles because it wouldn’t take long before she had already photographed just about everything of interest in and around the building. So, of course, Jophiel quietly attended these outings.

As she kept still and waited, Jophiel detected two other voices and peeked a single eye out of her dark nook to investigate whom else could be there. _Of course_ , she thought, _I should’ve known who it was from the beginning._ There, in the middle of the T.A.R.D.I.S. stood Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, having just arrived. John looked up at Sherlock, who was studying the information that they had received on whatever they were hunting this time. He reached his hand up to Sherlock’s face, and brushed away a stray clump of Sherlock’s dark, curled hair that had almost gotten into his eye. Sherlock turned with a face of feigned annoyance and a half-smile that hinted at internal pleasure at his husband’s gesture. “What was that for?” he questioned John.

         “You had a hair in your eye.” John replied sweetly.

         “And you felt it was your duty to remove it?”

         “Well, yes I suppose so.”

         “Not just an excuse to touch my face?” Sherlock mocked with a smile.

         “If after all these years I thought I could get anything by you…” John started, and the two embraced in a quick kiss. Jophiel smiled, for the two of them were quite adorable. She retreated back into the darkness, and listened to their footsteps leaving the T.A.R.D.I.S. to meet with the others as they all regrouped outside to discuss plans. Just as Jophiel was beginning to feel moderately lonely and began to contemplate if she would prefer to have a sibling, two familiar figures appeared in the darkness next to her. Jophiel jumped, for they had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. “My god, you two!” she furiously whispered.

         “Sorry Jo!” said Molly, “We had to be awfully quiet to get in here.” Molly sat down and Hamish nodded his head in agreement and sat down next to her.

         “Well, you’d better keep quiet, for they’re all due back in here any minute. I think Sam’s just getting the last of the supplies from the car.” Jo warned, and gently shouldered past the two younger children to get a view of the rest of interior of the T.A.R.D.I.S. to keep a look out for the adults’ return. The door opened and everyone piled inside to begin the trip. Jo quickly whipped her head back into the darkness, hitting Hamish’s shoulder on the way. “Sorry,” she whispered as quietly as possible, and settled in once again. She vaguely made out Hamish’s quick nod, and closed her eyes, readying herself for whatever possible adventure they would soon encounter.

 

        

The girl tied her beautiful chestnut colored horse to the closest tree she could find that surrounded the field and turned to her twin brother who was doing the same. “You ready?” she called and grinned widely as he smiled back to answer yes. Any free time the two had, which grew more and more sparse as they aged, they spent riding together in the nearby woods, hiking along the soft, plant-covered dirt, and soaking their feet in the clear cool river that ran from the tall, white mountains to the north. The girl’s most favorite thing was climbing this very large tree that laid next to the river, letting the warm afternoon wind tussle her long, blonde hair, and looking at the great castle that was at the heart of Camelot, wondering what everyone inside was doing at that very moment. Sometimes she’d make up stories about people who didn’t exist as she looked on at the looming castle. Geoffrey was a humble peasant, son of a knight but forced to live a life of poverty. Ellie was a young girl, hopelessly in love with the son of a visiting lord, a lord that happened to be the killer of her father. Stories like these erupted from her mind daily and she was lucky that Will, her brother, was a good listener.

         At the moment, the two siblings were walking side by side as best friends would, making their way to the great tree. Will had endured a busy week, and was quite ready for one of his sister’s stories. At fifteen years old, Will had already taken up a big responsibility of much court and army matters. He was the prince of Camelot after all. His sister knew this, and always tried to create the best tales whenever he was around. The two reached the tree and Will called up to his her as she ascended up the branches. “What kind of people are wandering the streets of Camelot today, Mith?”

         She chuckled and called down to him, “Well, I wouldn’t know! Can’t you see I haven’t reached the top yet? Will,” she started in a serious tone, “sometimes I worry that you may be going blind.” She smiled as he laughed and continued her climb. Her long dress snagged on a branch and she yanked it free with a frustrated grunt. The king would be disappointed. How many dresses had she ruined already while on her many adventures? She heard Will’s laughter at her frustrated state and yelled down to him, “It isn’t funny!”

         “Oh yes it is,” he replied, still laughing.

         “Do you know how upset father will be when he sees that I’ve ruined yet another dress?” the girl stated, still rather annoyed.

         “Yes, and that’s what’s funny!”

         “You do actually want me to tell you a story, don’t you?” she threatened, but then laughed because it was funny. She kept climbing and glanced down occasionally, watching her brother’s short, dark hair that was so like Merlin’s continue to grow smaller as she gained height.

         She reached the top and grew still. Will studied her and found it odd that she hadn’t already begun to weave a complex and wonderful tale that made someone who didn’t exist seem so real. He waited, growing curious and moderately worried. “Today, in Camelot…” he prompted her but still nothing. He waited a few more moments, but still not a sound came from his sister. “Mithya!” he called, “What is it?” She turned toward him suddenly, eyes wide with wonderment and fear.

         “We have to go!” she shouted, and began to descend the tree faster than she ever had before. Once on the ground, the brother and sister ran from the tree and through the forest.

         “What is it?” Will questioned Mithya, furiously curious.

         “You’ll see. Keep running.”

         “Wait a minute, we’re going _towards_ the thing? Tell me what it is!”

         “Honestly Will, I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Mithya said, sprinting steadily through the trees. They reached the horses and hid behind the trees surrounding the clearing in which the strange thing had landed. A group of men wearing strange clothes were walking away from it. Mithya stared at the blue box and wondered what exactly it was. As she had reached the top of the tree, this thing had come flying from the sky, out of nowhere, and landed in the clearing where it stood now. It had made a strange noise, almost otherworldly, and Mithya was beginning to think it might just be.

         As soon as the men disappeared into the trees, clearly headed towards Camelot, three other figures emerged hesitantly from within the box. There was a girl who appeared to be around Mithya and Will’s age with long brown hair in a braid at her side. She was followed by a smaller girl with long, dark, curly hair and an even smaller blond boy. They looked around and relaxed. Turning to each other, they began to talk, perhaps forming a plan of sorts.

         “I’m going to go out there,” Mithya said and before Will could stop her, she emerged from behind the tree. The three from the blue box jumped with surprise as they saw Mithya coming towards them. She eyed them curiously, all three wearing strange clothing like the men who came out before them. “Who are you and what is _that_?” she questioned them immediately.

         “I could ask the same of you,” said the taller girl, and looking behind Mithya, “and of your friend there.” Will had come out as well, walking towards them, hand on the hilt of his sword.

         Mithya wanted an answer from this strange girl and she wanted it right then. “This is my home and the lot of you just came out of a very odd blue box wearing very odd clothes. Now let me ask again. Who are you?”

         “Fine. My name is Jophiel Winchester, but you can call me Jo,” the girl replied in a tone that was almost mockery, “and this is Molly and Hamish Watson. We came from the future. This is a time traveling ship called the T.A.R.D.I.S. and it is bigger on the inside than on the outside. My fathers, Dean Winchester and Castiel along with Molly and Hamish’s fathers, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, are working with my uncle, Sam Winchester, and a man who calls himself ‘The Doctor’ to come and solve a mystery about some strange occurrences involving a strange spirit beast whatever. Now close your mouths, you’re letting in all the bugs, and tell me who you are.”

         Jo stood confidently, with her arms crossed, and stared at Mithya and Will. Their matching blue eyes were wide open, not sure what to make of all of this. The information they had just heard was unlike anything ever said in Camelot and even in Mithya’s wildest stories. Did the king know of this? Should Mithya and her brother tell him if he didn’t?

Stunned, Mithya didn’t know how to reply. _Was this all true? The future? Time travel?_ she thought, and attempted to shake herself out of her confused state enough to speak. “Um, I’m Mithya…uh, Pendragon. Mithya Pendragon. Yes, and this is my twin brother, Will. Our dad, King Arthur, is, well, the king and so, um, you shouldn’t even think of harming us. And, oh, our other dad is Merlin, the most powerful warlock ever to have lived, so, yeah you’d be best not to mess with us.” There was a long silence following Mithya’s hurried response as the three from the future processed what this girl had said. Jo was the first to speak.

         “Your name’s _Mithya_?” she questioned.

         Mithya suddenly felt irritated and protective over her name, which she had never given a second thought about before.

         “Yeah,” she stated blatantly. “I was named after two of my dads’ friends from ages ago. Mithian and Freya. Mithya. So what?”

         “No, no I like it.” Jo’s tone turned to one close to admiration. “It’s unique.” She winked and Mithya narrowed her eyes in moderate confusion.

Meanwhile, Molly had her eyebrows knit in concentration and finally spoke out. “Okay so your parents are Merlin and Arthur Pendragon. Right, but how is that possible?” she inquired, “You live in medieval Camelot, without advanced science, how can you have two fathers?”

         Once again, Mithya was left stunned. Out of everything this girl could have been contemplating, that was what she had asked. “Well, uh, our dad is Merlin, the greatest sorcerer ever to have lived, so he can pretty much make anything happen. I wouldn’t ask further details, it can get pretty complicated.” The five stared at each other, wondering to do next and possibly wondering if they should try to be friends. Hamish finally stepped forward and broke the silence.

         “Is it just me, or do any of you else find it odd that all of our fathers are homosexuals?” The five acknowledged this to be oddly true and concluded it was quite a coincidence.


	3. Chapter Two - Heroes Are Too Mainstream

Merlin was in the midst of a very distressing afternoon. First, there was the thought that was always in his mind these days: what was the strange thing that was terrorizing the woods and would kill on the spot? What made it even more distressing was that the beast seemed only to kill certain men, not all who wandered the forest in which it dwelled. Merlin pondered over this day and night, but could not come up with an explanation. Second, his two children had not returned home though they were supposed to be back an hour ago. Merlin was preparing to leave to go and find them, but he couldn’t go without telling Arthur, and Arthur was busy at the moment, leading to the third thing that made the poor man’s afternoon so distressing. The Doctor, Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Sam and Dean Winchester, and Castiel had come again and were in a meeting with the king that had already been in session for three hours. Their presence should be good news for Merlin, and he was actually looking forward to going on an adventure with Arthur and their friends once again, but it was always hard to get accustomed to their strange methods with their strange “technology.”

He paced outside the great hall in which the meeting was taking place, contemplating his options. Why not just leave without telling Arthur? But then of course, the king might become even more worried than was necessary if appeared that his husband had disappeared along with his children. So Merlin would wait. He could always go into the meeting and just tell Arthur right away. He would have to deal with the embarrassment of his outburst, but surely it would be worth it if he could save his children faster. Just as Merlin decided he would do this, the king and their friends from the future burst from the room, heads held high and strong with the assurance of a set plan for the next day. As they headed for their rooms for the night, Arthur turned around for he had seen Merlin in the corner of his eye and walked toward him. “You know,” began Arthur as he grabbed Merlin’s hands in a gentle, loving hold, “you’re a king too; you should’ve been in there by my side.”

“Oh please, we both know I’m more like the queen in this relationship.” Merlin responded.

“Well yes, I suppose you’re right on that one,” Arthur said with a tilt of his head, “but queens attend council meetings as well…”

“Hmm… maybe I’m more like a manservant then?” Merlin pushed, causing the both of them to laugh at this inside joke of theirs. Arthur leaned in for a kiss when suddenly Merlin pushed away with a start, remembering his urgent need to speak with his husband. Merlin often forgot what he was previously thinking whenever he was around Arthur, for the two would always become lost in each other’s eyes and lips.

“Arthur! I need to speak with you,” Merlin urged, “It’s about the children.”

“Our children? What of them?” Arthur wondered, suddenly stiff and serious, a pit growing in his stomach.

“They haven’t returned. They were due back an hour ago. I’m worried. I want to go out searching for them.” Merlin informed Arthur, a quaver forming in his voice.

“Yes of course. We’ll ride out immediately.” Arthur replied, barely audible, for his children were quite well behaved and always showed up on time wherever they were needed. And with this beast roaming the woods… Arthur wouldn’t allow himself to think of it, and neither would Merlin.

Sunset was arriving quickly when Merlin and Arthur rode out of the gates of Camelot, with darkness settling over the land like a blanket that was slowly being placed over the shoulders of a sick child. The two kings rode fast through the sparse woods that surrounded their city, the hooves of their horses pounding wildly over the thick cover of leaves and grasses creating a thumping sound that was not unlike thunder.

Finally, they emerged out of the trees into the meadow. There stood the T.A.R.D.I.S., door slightly ajar. This was odd. The Doctor surely would’ve closed it. Arthur dismounted his horse and tentatively crept towards the otherworldly blue box with Merlin right behind him. Merlin’s jaw was tight with worry, and hope that his children were found inside this blue police box, exploring this strange new thing. Arthur stopped at the door, opened it wider, and peered inside. Merlin could not breathe. “What is it?” he whispered after a few seconds silence, “Are they in there?” Arthur turned around to face Merlin, jaw quivering, and shook his head. Merlin turned and searched the meadow, hoping to see any sign of his son and daughter. His breath caught as he spotted his children’s horses, still tied to some trees. _Surely they would’ve taken their horses with them if they had gone far_ , Merlin thought. He glanced at Arthur who had just noticed the horses as well. A mutual understanding was shared between them without speaking. Wherever Will and Mithya were, they were most likely in danger.

 

 

Hamish sketched his sister’s dark outline in the dirt of the musty cave. He sighed with utter annoyance as he ran through a list of phrases he’d thought up involving several different cuss words that he desperately wanted to shout at his captors. Unfortunately, the mysterious shadowy figures had disappeared into the darkness of the cave tunnels, and frankly, none of the children wanted to go after them.

A strange noise made Hamish jump suddenly, and he cursed himself for being so scared at a snore. Will had fallen asleep against the rocky cave wall, and had been that way for some time now. Molly had fallen asleep against his shoulder just a few minutes ago. Hamish returned to his drawing and yawned. He supposed it was probably well into the night by now. It was hard to tell in this cave that was all closed off, without a single glimpse of the sky above them. Hamish acknowledged that he wasn’t even sure how deep underground they were. This was very troubling to the young boy, who almost always had a fine sense of everything that was happening around him.

A few moments later, Hamish found himself jumping once again as several rocks crumbled off the side of the cave.

“Sorry!” said Mithya. “I missed.”

“God, you guys…” Hamish started, breathing a sigh of relief that it was only Mithya. “Missed what exactly?”

“Well see, I was trying to levitate a rock to show Jo and I thought this one was just sitting there on a ledge but…um, it was connected to the wall, resulting in the slight rock fall. Sorry for startling you.” Mithya explained apologetically. Jophiel laughed as Hamish’s face turned red. _I wasn’t startled_ , he thought defensively.

“Right,” said Hamish. “Magic. Yeah, that’ll take some time to get used to.”

Hamish was having a hard time accepting that magic existed. At first, he didn’t believe the twins when they claimed that their father was Merlin. It couldn’t be Merlin, THE Merlin, of the old legends. Nevertheless, Hamish was forced to believe it now, because if it hadn’t been for Mithya, there was a very good chance that they would all be dead.

After just meeting, the twins wanted to show the others Camelot, without having to make the walk back just then. So Mithya and Will set out to show Jophiel, Molly, and Hamish the great tree by the river. They took turns climbing up the tree and viewing the spectacle that was Camelot. When Hamish was at the top, a slight breeze started, he held his arms out, and let it tussle his sandy blond hair. Experiencing quite a Titanic moment, Hamish told the others waiting on the ground, but unfortunately Will and Mithya did not understand the reference in the slightest.

Enjoying the stunning woodland, Jo took off running, most likely seeking an adventure. Hamish and Molly were awfully accustomed to this action after going on many trips with Jo in the past (it happened nearly every time they went anywhere) and gestured for Will and Mithya to follow them as they took off after their friend.

They found her in a field full of bright yellow wildflowers, pulling a small vintage camera out of her pocket. She had crouched down, aimed it at a flower, and snapped a photo. Mithya and Will had been horrified and Jo, Molly, and Hamish spent nearly ten minutes explaining technology and cameras to the two medieval teenagers.

It was after this talk when the shadowy figures jumped them. Noted, it was in full daylight, so the figures weren’t in the shadows, but more like they were shadows themselves. There were three of them, and somehow they managed to drag the five new friends (struggling viciously the entire time) into the cave in which they were now imprisoned. During the journey to the cave, the five were surrounded by a constant vortex of moving blackness, none of which seemed to have a definite shape. _Well, this is no beast_ , Hamish had thought, _but possibly something much worse_. In all of the chaos, Hamish had noticed something odd about Mithya. She was thrashing her head around as if trying to identify each shadowed figure, and muttering strange words in another language, which didn’t seem to make any sense at all to Hamish. However, the strangest thing about the girl’s weird act was her eyes. Every time she muttered something, they glowed yellow for a brief moment. Hamish was unable to dwell on it for too long though, because at that time they were being kidnapped by murderous shadows.

Once in the cave, the entrance sealed and the shadows quickly slid deep into the tunnels of the cave. Mithya explained that she had inherited her father’s gift of sorcery, but it was not nearly as strong as the great Merlin’s. Apparently, the shadows had indeed been attempting to kill them, but Mithya’s magic kept them from doing so. They had imprisoned the children in the cave while they contemplated how to deal with the one with yellow eyes so they could kill the other four and consume their life energy. Hamish had briefly lost consciousness.

 When he came to a mere five minutes later, the group explained Mithya’s unsuccessful attempts to break the rocks that sealed the passage out. The shadows had ghostly abilities with some sort of dark magic. Mithya’s gift was not strong enough to counter it. Hamish found himself passing out once again.

The next time he woke up, Will had already fallen asleep, possibly out of exhaustion from all of the stress he was under. Molly was watching as Jo showed Mithya her camera and Mithya showed Jo some simple spells. However, Hamish’s sister soon fell asleep after his waking.

The group had sat in that cave for quite a long time, and now Hamish was getting very fidgety. He wanted to do something but he wasn’t sure what. Finally, he decided that he wanted to face those sons of bitches that captured him and his friends. He stood up, ready to brave the dark tunnel, then realized he was an unarmed ten-year-old and would most likely die. Hamish concluded he would bring Mithya as a guard. Those shadows had already run from her, right?

“I’m going down there,” he said, facing Jophiel and Mithya, who were looking at him like he was mad. Then pointing at Mithya, “And you’re coming with me.” She smiled, obviously tired of doing nothing as well, and stood to join him.

“Hey wait a minute, don’t think of counting me out!” Jo said, and jumped up as well.

The three of them smiled somewhat nervously at each other as they turned to head down the tunnels.

“Wait, what about Will and Molly?” Mithya pointed out.

“Good point,” said Hamish.

 

 

The message in the dirt read: _We’ve gone down to do something to those bastard shadows. Don’t come, because if you do, you’ll probably die. –HW_

Will had experienced a miniature panic attack. His sister, his best friend, had gone down into who knows where to face who knows what armed only with her magic that was not all that powerful, a fifteen-year-old girl from the future with a camera, and a ten-year-old boy who was admittedly quite intelligent but had proven himself to be quite rash as well. He noticed Molly experiencing quite a similar attack of panic as his own. She had balled up in a corner, nose pressed up against her knees. He guessed that she was scared, this was her little brother and she had probably thought it was her duty to protect him, such as Will believed it was his duty to protect Mithya. Will stood up and started pacing about the cave floor, impatient and attempting to come up with a plan, but drawing a blank. Suddenly, voices sounded from above.

“But don’t you see! It’s obvious!”

“How is it obvious? What is the pattern? Have you figured it out?” This second voice was clearly confused and seemed a bit worn out, unlike the first voice, which spoke full of energy and excitement.

“Ah, but there is no pattern!” said the first voice, still bubbling with excitement.

“What do you mean?” urged a new voice, this one with a hint of wonder.

“Well,” started the first voice, “this thing doesn’t care what it kills. Its victims are completely random. We couldn’t determine the similarities between the murdered men because there were no similarities! Don’t you see, this creature is not planning anything, it’s entirely random!”

“Yes, of course!” exclaimed the third voice.

“Yes, yes, brilliant. Now can we please continue on, our children are missing.” pushed a new voice once again (this group was proving to be quite large), this one was filled with worry and impatience.

Somewhere in the middle of the conversation, Molly had jumped up. She and Will were both staring at the ceiling, both thinking the impossible. When the last voice spoke, Will’s heart shattered for it was clearly the voice of Arthur Pendragon. His voice cracked as he yelled at the sky, which must not be too far above his head.

“Father! Father! Arthur Pendragon!”

“So you think it’s them, too?” Molly whispered, eyes wide. Will could only nod, eyes unmoving from the ceiling. “SHERLOCK!” she screamed, surprisingly a whole lot louder than Will had. Both had now identified the first voice as Sherlock’s.

There was scuffling above and Will and Molly could only hope that the group had heard them. Then, a new voice sounded loud through the rock as if it’s owner had his face pressed right up to the ground, which was most likely what he was doing. “Molly? Molly is that you?” It was John Watson.

Molly laughed with relief, a tear rolling down her cheek. “Dad!” she called back. “You have to help, Hamish is in trouble.”

There was a bang of armor against rock as another figure pressed his head against the floor. “Will? Will, are you there?” Will was beyond relief; Arthur had heard his call.

“Yes! But you must help, as Molly was saying, the others are in trouble!” A loud bang sounded to his right, and Will and Molly jumped as a hole was blasted in the roof, rocks falling to the ground around them. Merlin stood above the great opening, yellow fading from his eyes, hand moving down to his side. “Father!” Will called with joy, running to Merlin as a six-year-old might after a first day of kindergarten.

The others poured into the cavern after Merlin, eyes searching around for their children. Molly ran crying to John and Sherlock. Within seconds, it was clear that three of the kids were gone.

The attention turned to Will and Molly, who now found themselves at the center of the gaze of eight staring faces. At first there was silence. The adults were hesitant to ask where the other children were, because of the fear that the answer would tell of their death. Finally, Dean asked, “Where is she?” in a soft voice. The faces of the adults tightened as they braced themselves for the worst. Will couldn’t find his voice, so he simply pointed at Hamish’s message in the dirt.

Eight heads turned from the two kids. Eight heads lowered to read the message inscribed in the center of the cavern. Eight heads were still as they read.

Dean’s face remained hard, but his lip quavered ever so slightly as he realized what his daughter had done. There was every possibly that Jophiel was dead. Arthur’s face was much the same. The two shared a glance and headed down the dark tunnel, Arthur drawing a sword and Dean pulling out a gun loaded with rock salt.

“Well, let’s go after them,” said The Doctor enthusiastically, trotting towards the tunnel entrance. The others followed without hesitation.

 

 

Jophiel had never thought that her camera could be a weapon. Sure, if you threw it at someone’s head hard enough, it could probably do some damage, but Jo would never do that unless it was the direst of situations. Her camera was like her child, and she wouldn’t destroy it unless she absolutely had to. However, in this circumstance Jophiel’s camera proved to be weapon in a different way.

Things had become bad awfully fast, and it didn’t take long before Jo, Mithya, and Hamish realized that their plan was poorly thought out and that they had no idea what they were doing and would most likely perish in this lonely cave.

The tunnel was long, and Jophiel had actually become bored walking down it. So she started to sing to pass the time. “Teddy Bear Picnic” came to mind but Jo quickly decided that it was probably not the best song to sing while wandering down a very dark tunnel to chase after murderous shadows. Hamish and Mithya could only stare at her in confusion as she started up with her next song choice, “Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves” by Cher. Towards the middle of the song, Jo was interrupted by scuffles that sounded ahead of them.

“Ninjas,” Jo whispered, narrowing her eyes.

“No,” corrected Hamish, giving the girl an odd look. “Probably the shadows,” he suggested with a hint of sarcasm.

“If you say so,” Jo retorted, shrugging. Mithya was looking around with wide eyes, and created a ball of light from her hand that illuminated the tunnel in a comforting white light.

“Why the hell didn’t you do that earlier?” said Hamish angrily. “We’ve been stumbling around in the dark this whole time when we could’ve easily been strutting down this tunnel with perfect vision!”

“Sorry! I guess it didn’t occur to me…” Mithya said and hung her head.

“Let’s just keep going,” Jo said and pushed ahead, Hamish quickly following her, with Mithya bringing up the rear.

They continued walking down the tunnel for a few more feet when it opened up into a wide cavern. The tunnel continued again off to the side of the cave. Jo started to lead the way towards the tunnel when suddenly she was stopped by a shriek and a bang that sounded from behind her. She whipped her head around and was faced by Hamish, who was frozen still right behind her. He looked up at her with wide eyes. She looked behind him, and her heart nearly stopped beating when she saw Mithya lying on the ground behind them. The shadows had thrown the girl off her feet and to the side of the cavern. Jophiel ran to her and was relieved to find that she was merely unconscious and not dead. “She’s okay,” Jo told Hamish, “just unconscious.”

“Must’ve been the shadows,” Hamish whispered back, looking around. “Wait!” he said, suddenly intense and frightened. “Mithya’s magic was our only weapon, our only protection. That was our only offensive! What are we going to do?” Jo was left stunned as this fact sunk in. She realized that this was probably the end. They were going to die. She looked at the small boy next to her, his face sullen as he realized the same thing she did.

“We fight,” Jo told him. “We do whatever we can. If we go down, we go down fighting.”

“It’s been a pleasure knowing you, Jophiel Winchester,” said Hamish, smiling lightly. Jo let out a short laugh.

“And you, Hamish Watson.” Jophiel stood up, and bowed to the boy.

Then from within the darkness of the cavern came sounds that could only be the shadows moving around. Hamish looked down at Mithya, then up at Jo, and nodded. He rushed into the blackness of the center of the cave yelling, “Come and get me you sons of bitches!”

“Hamish! No!” Jo screamed. She wouldn’t let him die first. She looked down at Mithya and whispered, “Goodbye.” Jo ran along the side of the cave away from Mithya and away from Hamish. “Over here!” she shouted, waving her arms. She felt the wind shift as the shadows turned away from Hamish and towards her. Jo braced herself, and as a last instinct, pulled out her camera. She lifted to her face, and decided that if anyone came down here, they’d find her camera and they’d see a picture of whatever killed her and her friends.

A click as Jo turned the flash on. A howl of wind as the shadows drew closer. A yell from Hamish at the other side of the cavern. A sarcastic command, “Say cheese,” whispered in a quavering voice. Another click as Jo pressed the button to take a picture. A sudden flash of light from the camera as the flash went off. A loud whistle of exploding wind as the shadows vaporized.

 

 

“Seriously, you’re a hero. If it wasn’t for you, Hamish and I would be dead.”

“Please. Don’t. I’m not a hero, heroes are too mainstream. Plus, I didn’t know my camera’s flash would kill them. That was by chance.”

“Alright, whatever you say.” Jo was clearly tired of being called a hero, so Mithya turned and let her be with Dean and Castiel. Frankly, Mithya was embarrassed of her own part in the events of the past night. She had allowed herself to get knocked out and become completely powerless. Hamish and Jo had needed her, and she wasn’t there. If they had all died, it would be because of her.

“It wouldn’t have been your fault.” Mithya felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up into Merlin’s face.

“What, are you a mind reader now?” Mithya asked her father.

“Yes,” he said. Mithya laughed. “There’s that smile. No, I’m not a mind reader, but I can tell by your face that was what you were thinking.”

“How clever of you.”

“Yes, I think so,” Merlin said with a smile. “You’re a lot like Arthur, you know. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had to tell him that it wasn’t his fault.”  

“Oh really?” Mithya said, looking up with raised eyebrows at Arthur who was now coming over.

“Not that again…” Arthur said with a laugh and kissed Mithya’s forehead, then walked over and kissed Merlin’s cheek. The three were laughing when Will came over to tell them that the time travelers would be leaving now.

The Pendragons walked up the T.A.R.D.I.S. to say goodbyes to their strange friends from the future. Mithya and Will stood facing Hamish, Molly, and Jophiel as their parents said their goodbyes. Without saying a word, the five spontaneously embraced into a group hug. Jo pulled away first, because it was reminding her too much of musicals, which she despised.

As the others discussed how glad they were that they met, and complemented each other on his or her fine qualities, Mithya broke away and turned to Jo. “You know,” Mithya started, “I think if we lived in the same time period we’d be good friends.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” Jo replied. “Hey, maybe we’ll see each other again,” she suggested. “You know, ‘cause my dads’ friend has a time machine and all.”

“True, true. Until next time, Jophiel Winchester,” Mithya said as she stepped away to join her family as everyone else piled into the T.A.R.D.I.S.

“Until next time, Mithya Pendragon,” Jo replied and turned back into the T.A.R.D.I.S. “Laters!”


	4. Epilogue

Molly sat in her favorite field as she did almost every day. She twisted her long dark curls around her finger and wondered how long she should stay. It was her birthday, she was thirteen now, and she had nothing planned. Not that she cared, she didn’t have friends, nor did she want any. Hamish was the only friend she had, and she supposed he was enough. Molly corrected herself. She did have other friends, but she never got to see them. Jo lived in America, which wasn’t so bad considering that her other two friends, Will and Mithya, lived in a completely different time era. She flopped down in the grass with a sigh.

         As Molly lay in the grass, she noticed the rock. _This way_ , it said in black marker with an arrow. Curious now, Molly followed the arrow and discovered another rock with a similar message. Molly continued to follow the trail, growing excited, and found rock after rock leading her through the field, out into the streets, around corners, and finally to another park where a familiar blue police box stood. Around it stood Hamish, Jo, Mithya, Will, and The Doctor. Molly smiled and ran towards them.

         Surprisingly, the first thing she said was not “How great to see you!” or “I’ve missed you guys!” but instead this girl, who was always curious and questioned everything, said, “How did you know I would see the rocks? I could have easily missed it and never would have found you.”

         “We missed you too Molly,” said Will with a laugh.

         “We thought we’d give you twenty minutes or so to notice, then we’d come and get you,” explained Jo.

         “Oh, I see. Nice idea by the way,” said Molly.

         “Now come on in!” urged The Doctor. “We had to go through a series of covert operations to get you all here,” he said with a wink, “and well, happy birthday Molly! I hope you like your present.”

         “I do, I like it very much,” said Molly, smiling widely.

         “Now,” began The Doctor, “it’s your birthday and we have all of space and time at our fingertips. Where do you want to go?”

         “Let me think…” Molly said, and ran into the T.A.R.D.I.S. The others followed right behind her.

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: If you plan to read the next parts of the story, be prepared for things to get complicated. And fast. This first part was more of an intro to the characters, while the next parts will get more into depth as a larger storyline unfolds. Have fun, children.


End file.
